Statement

Joint UN Statement on International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

25 November 2018

Statement

UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador Ashley Judd named Time Magazine Person of the Year 2017

07 December 2017

News

View from a camp in Myanmar – one family's story from before the recent crisis

Even before the recent escalation of the crisis in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, conditions were tense and crowded. © UNFPA Myanmar/Karlien Truyens

04 December 2017

News

Running for her life: A journey of violence, displacement and healing

"I probably would be dead by now were it not for their intervention," Ms. Asinde said of the staff at the Kakuma Support Centre. © UNFPA Kenya/Douglas Waudo

04 December 2017

News

“I felt like a prisoner”: Spousal violence in Iraq

Cojine* endured years of spousal abuse in Iraq. © UNFPA Iraq

01 December 2017

2017 International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

Published on: 25/11/2017

UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem speaks about the urgent need to end gender-based violence, and the impunity that allows it to thrive.

News

In Paraguay, urging young people to end dating violence

Noviazgo sin Violencia, or Dating without Violence, addresses the fact that intimate partner violence often begins early. © UNFPA Paraguay/Mario Achucarro

27 November 2017

A story of violence, told in 16 objects

22 Nov 2017

Violence against women is a global epidemic. It reaches every culture, community and country on earth.

From 25 November to 10 December, the world observes the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence. To mark the event, UNFPA has collected photos of 16 artefacts from real incidents of abuse. Together, these objects offer a peek into the unspoken but pervasive reality of violence.

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“That’s what’s left of my teeth after my husband beat me.”

Ameera* was only 13 years old when she was married to an abusive man in Yemen. (Names have been changed where indicated with an asterisk.) One day, because she was late waking him from a midday nap, he beat her with a broomstick, fracturing her nose and smashing her teeth. She now lives in a UNFPA-supported shelter, and keeps these tooth fragments as evidence for the courts.

“I was slapped and dragged by my husband,” said Sonisay*, in Cambodia.

This is Sonisay’s footprint in the garden where she would flee to escape her husband’s violence. Globally, one in every three women experiences abuse of some kind – most often perpetrated by someone she knows.

In Somalia, a circumciser shows the blades she uses to perform female genital mutilation (FGM).

Traditional practices like FGM and child marriage also inflict harm. This woman knows FGM is dangerous. “My daughter got sick soon after being cut,” she acknowledged. But she does not think things can change. More than 200 million women and girls alive have undergone FGM, which can cause bleeding, infection and even death.

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“He took me to his house, undressed me and forced me to sleep with him.”

In Zambia, 14-year-old Mirriam visited this counselling centre after being married off to a 78-year-old man. “It was so painful,” she said. “He told me that I had to do it because I was now his wife.” In the developing world, approximately one in four girls will be married as a child. Child marriages continue to take place in developed countries as well.

Photo by Young Women Christian Association of Zambia and UNFPA

Violence casts a long shadow over individuals and families.

Tatiana’s family in Ukraine was torn apart by her husband’s abuses. He is gone now, but she and her six children are still trying to rebuild in this small home. “The children – I live for them,” Tatiana said. “I don’t have a husband. Maybe someday I’ll have another one. But these children are here; they are permanent.”

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Gender-based violence can lead to chronic pain, trauma, disability or death.

Martha was treated with these first-aid supplies after her husband viciously beat her in Lusaka, Zambia. “Her face was badly swollen,” said a counsellor at the shelter she visited. “She had several cuts on her back. She said if she had not run away, he would have probably killed her.” Two thirds of domestic violence homicide victims are women and girls.

Photo by Young Women Christian Association of Zambia and UNFPA

“He pushed her onto the bed and began strangling her.”

Sexual violence can derail a woman’s life with terror, stigma, disease or pregnancy. In Jordan, a young woman sought medical care at this clinic after she was raped. She was relieved to learn she was not pregnant, “but she was still sad and in shock,” said Dr. Rania Elayyan, who treated her. Like many survivors, this woman chose to keep the attack a secret.

And violence takes many forms, including psychological torment.

In Bolivia, Carmen’s* boyfriend ridiculed her relentlessly, mocking her clothes and appearance. Eventually, she started hiding from him in the bathrooms at their university, including this one. “Those little things add up,” she said. “They affect your self-esteem and they change you.”

Economic deprivation is also a form of violence, one that pushes women and girls into desperation.

This judge in Nicaragua has issued a ruling against Sofia’s* father, who beat his wife and withheld financial support for Sofia. He cut Sofia off when she became pregnant at 14, well below the age of consent. "When I needed him most and I got pregnant when I was 14, he turned his back on me," Sofia said. "Now it's super difficult for me to keep up. It's hard for me to study." The judge ruled that her father must support her until she turns 21.

“Our brothers imprisoned us in this dark room for 20 years – since we were children.”

In some horrific cases, women and girls are deprived of their freedom. From the time Balqees* was 9 years old, she and her sister were locked up in this room in Yemen. The brothers felt the girls would shame the family if they were seen in public. Eventually, the brothers abandoned them entirely, and neighbours had to break them out.

And violence begets violence, carrying over into the next generation.

Six-year-old Omar*, in Morocco, broke this toy piano trying to protect his mother from his father’s abuse. His mother is afraid for her children’s welfare. “I want a better future for my kids; I don’t want to see them broken,” she said.

“We risk our lives in the forest every day to collect wood for cooking.”

In humanitarian crises, women become targets. Zeinabu, 22, was attacked by Boko Haram fighters while collecting firewood outside her displacement camp in north-east Nigeria. Many women have been raped, kidnapped or killed while gathering wood. This is a bundle Zeinabu has collected.

In crisis settings, women are not only forced to seek food and shelter, they also struggle over where they can go and how they can dress to minimize threats.

Sexual violence has been rampant among Rohingya refugees fleeing the crisis in Myanmar. This mountain of donated clothes has accumulated outside a refugee camp in Bangladesh; women have rejected the items as not modest enough to deter unwanted attention.

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Rawa’s* father used this rope to tie her to this bed before he raped her.

War can make women less safe even in their own homes. In Yemen – one of the biggest humanitarian catastrophes in the world – reports of gender-based violence have grown by over 60 per cent. Some of the increase is likely due to extreme stress, and some due to the breakdown of protection systems amid the chaos. And some stories, like this one, are simply incomprehensible.

The problem will not be solved by women, activists, leaders or even laws. Men and boys must play a role.

Ry, in Cambodia, says he used to be violent towards his wife in this house. But then he joined the Good Men Campaign, an initiative to end gender-based violence. Today, he is determined to do better. “If I could go back to the past, I would have not argued with my wife. Instead, I would have loved and respected her more,” he said.

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And these stories must be brought from the shadows, to show the true scope of the problem and to light the way out.

In Belarus, a survivor of domestic violence draws this flower in an art therapy master class. The goal is for survivors to express and overcome their fears, and to grow from them. The theme of the class is “open to live.”

16 girls, 16 stories of resistance

25 Nov 2015

Every day, tens of thousands of girls are married before reaching their 18th birthday.

They are some of the most vulnerable girls on earth. They are denied their rights, they are at risk of abuse, their health is jeopardized, and their future prospects are limited.

In Niger, which has one of the highest child marriage rates in the world, these 16 extraordinary girls refused to become child brides.

From 25 November to 10 December, the world observes 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence. These girls embody the strength and spirit of this movement.

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“He greeted me with a terrifying smile and said, ‘You will be my second wife.’” -Amina Mahamane, 15

Last year, despite her protests, Amina was betrothed to a much older man. “My uncle hit me with a stick and told me he would kill me if I continued to refuse the marriage,” she said. But she stood firm, and the wedding was cancelled.

“My parents insisted that I marry, but I resisted like a warrior.” -Salamatou Laouali, 17

A 40-year-old man proposed when Salamatou was just 14. She convinced her father to reject the proposal, and he encouraged her to join Action for Adolescent Girls, a girls’ empowerment programme supported by UNFPA and the Government of Niger. The girls in this series are all members of the programme.

“I noticed that for my friends who were child brides, marriage was synonymous with constant problems.” -Chaâfatou Mamane, 15

Action for Adolescent Girls teaches literacy and life skills. It also raises awareness about the dangers of child marriage. After joining the programme, Chaâfatou was able to explain to her family how marrying early would endanger her health and future.

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“I have a cousin who was married off at age 13. She became pregnant and died during labour.” -Mariama Salissou, 16

Many child brides are not physically ready to be mothers. Globally, pregnancy-related complications are the second leading cause of death among adolescent girls. Mariama has received several proposals, but refuses to marry until she is 18.

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“I told them that many girls married too young are victims of obstetric fistula [and] domestic violence…” -Manira Sanoussi, 14

Girls who become pregnant while physically immature are more likely to develop obstetric fistula – a labour complication that causes incontinence, often followed by chronic health problems. Manira’s Action for Adolescent Girls mentor convinced her parents to call off the wedding.

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“After the wedding, he wanted to have sex with me, but I refused... He beat me and gagged me so he could get what he wanted.” -Zeinabou Moussa, 16

Zeinabou was married at 15. But she fought back when her husband tried to rape her, almost nightly, for weeks. Finally, he divorced her. Today, she is a proud advocate for girls’ rights.

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“When I saw teenage girls who refused to marry, I thought they were rebels... But now I understand their refusal. They just want to defend their rights.” -Ramatou Abdoul Hamidou, 14

Girls are expected to defer to their parents’ decisions, but Ramatou took a stand when her parents arranged a marriage for her last year. She protested, and after her mentor and the local imam intervened, her parents relented.

“I was bleeding, I was in tears. I ran away from his house and sought refuge with my grandparents.” -Salamatou Adam, 17

Salamatou’s father forced her to marry when she was 16. She ran away after a brutal wedding night, but her father found her, beat her and returned her to her husband's home. There, she was abused for days before her family agreed to pursue a divorce.

“My father thought I was possessed by evil spirits.” -Hadiza Abdoulaye, 18

Last year, when Hadiza refused to marry, her father sent her to a religious official for an exorcism. “He beat me repeatedly with a long stick during long exorcism sessions,” she recounted. Still, she stood her ground, and the wedding plans were cancelled.

“I got the dowry returned. I am against the fact that my parents exchanged me for cereal bags from my future husband.” -Zara Magagi, 15

Dowries and bride prices can create incentives to marry off girls while they are young. But awareness of the harms of child marriage can change people’s minds – as it did for Zara’s parents.

“According to them, my value is in marriage, and the older I get, the less value I have. I refuse to see the world this way.” -Balkissa Boubacar, 14

Gender inequality plays a huge role in perpetuating child marriage. But when girls are empowered, when they know their rights and have a choice, they marry later. “I told my family to wait until I was 18,” Balkissa said.

“My father gave up the marriage and congratulated me for saying no to the proposal.” -Nana Firdaoussou Garba, 17

Two years ago, when Nana refused to marry a 25-year-old man, her father was furious. But over time, he came to understand that the marriage would have put her at risk.

“I want to become an independent woman and support myself without waiting for my husband.” -Sahanatou Issoufou, 15

Sahanatou’s father wanted to throw her out of the house when she refused to get married. She appealed to an aunt, who convinced him to drop the wedding plans. “I intend to educate other girls so they, too, can assert themselves, and know and defend their rights.”

“I felt such a strong sense of daring in saying no.” -Larira Ibrahim, 14

Larira’s father accepted a proposal from someone she had never met. With help from uncles and neighbours, Larira convinced her parents to cancel the wedding. “We must help all young girls to have the courage to say no to early marriage.”

“Despite pressure from my family, I took my destiny into my own hands by refusing this marriage.” -Samira Rabiou, 18

Samira’s uncle arranged for her to be married at age 13. “During the wedding night, when the guests left, my husband handed me money to give to the bridesmaids so they could take a taxi home. I used this money to escape to my father’s family.”

“I learned how to fly with my own wings.” -Wassila Ali, 16

Wassila refused to marry a 20-year-old tailor. Through the UNFPA girls’ empowerment programme, she has learned to read and write, and wants to start her own business – as a seamstress. She echoed the sentiments of many girls when she declared, “I hate dependence.”

Joint UN Statement on International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador Ashley Judd named Time Magazine Person of the Year 2017

View from a camp in Myanmar – one family's story from before the recent crisis

Running for her life: A journey of violence, displacement and healing

“I felt like a prisoner”: Spousal violence in Iraq

2017 International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

In Paraguay, urging young people to end dating violence

Around the world, activists call for an end to violence against women